Larry Fugate:
CLASS OF 1969
Fountain Valley High SchoolClass of 1969
Fountain valley, CA
Larry's Story
High school was the lousiest time of my life. Running scared most of the time trying to fit in while being a social misfit. The truth is, I was an idiot. It was a small group of friends that pretty much kept me stable. A couple of teachers, Mr. McGeehee, the shop teacher and Miss Edgecomb, my English teacher made a great difference in my life. They made coming to school fun and rewarding. Anyway, I finally settled down and straightened out a few years after HS- married a great lady and had three wonderful children. I joined the LAPD in 1976 and made a career of it. I retired 20 years later- on a Friday- and the next Monday I was hired back to manage their video production facility as a civilian. I now have 13 years doing that. Kind of strange how it all happened, but the short story is that I always had an interest in photography and that developed into developing my skills as a videographer, editor and director. At one time I even worked as a freelance video guy for Fox 11 in LA (3 years) I've had the greatest experiences on the job, getting to shoot (tape) riots, civil unrest, presidents, govenors, hollywood types, unusual occurrences, natural disasters and the such. I can't remember a day that I did not enjoy coming to work. I hear many of my peers complaining how bad they have it and I just remember that I used to scoop ice cream at Sav-On for $125 a week. Puts things into perspective real fast. I started my college experience right after high school only because I flunked government and wanted my HS diploma. But because of the job hours and shift changes it was too difficult to stay in school. I had to bag that for awhile. I have always challenged my kids to get a good education and they railed on me for not completing mine- so a couple of years ago I started out to fix that problem. I have all the required units for my BS degree in Organizational Management, but have a senior project to complete. I'm...Expand for more
involved with completing it now and expect to have it done in October. I'll walk this one. It's been great going back to school- even though the chairs are not as roomy as they were in HS. I wished I had caugth the vision of how important education was during the HS days. Cheaper too! At 57, not much it can do for me economically, I could retire at anytime I guess, but learning is rewarding. And, as I said, I love my job. Thinking of a Master's program next year- maybe I'll teach?? I love to read- classics (Dickens), history (WWII stuff) and biographies (Churchill my fav) consume me. Since my feet usually get me where I'm going first, I like spit polish on the toes of my dress shoes and a good shine on casual shoes. Work boots get a by. If you look like crap in public, I'm going to wonder why you would do that, but I'll keep it to myself but maybe discuss it with my wife only. If you smell, I might say something- especially if you're standing in front of me. Yards have to be cut and trim and I have no tolerance for the rude and obnoxious. All of this probably because I wasn't at all like this in HS. All life is good and even though I have an opinion about current issues and life styles, I respect the right for you to do what you want- just don't throw it in my face and keep me up at night. If you are going to protest something, respect my right to counter it if I choose. That's what makes this country great- diversity and freedom. If you're a good neighbor, you can eat at my home- doesn't matter if you are a democrat or a repubican or a Ron Paul fan :). If I had to do it over again, I'd probably be a Geography teacher. I have fallen in love with weather, earth and it's many systems. We are all stewards of this great planet. We should know how it works. The greatest person my life is my wife. Anyone who could put up with me for 33 years is either crazy or a saint- the latter fits the bill. That's it for now. LLF
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